Oedipus The King : A Tragic Hero

Oedipus, the model Greek hero in Oedipus the King, was the protagonist that saved Thebes from the curse of the sphinx. Accomplishing this task gave him favor in the people's eyes and absolute power as the king of Thebes. This power did not last long and in time, this led to his downfall because of his hubris. He was prideful, steadfast in his strength over Thebes and the foreboding prophecy the Oracle had warned him about. After becoming the king of Thebes, he values power over family and

"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." -Aristotle No one wants to be a tragic hero. A great or virtuous character, but sadly they are destined for downfall because of their own judgement. Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a man or woman of noble stature who is “good, but not perfect” (pg. 1252) and whose downfall is undeserved but is by his own hand; however, his misfortune is not pure loss because he reaches fuller self-knowledge. In the end, a tragic hero “arouses solemn emotions – pity and fear…but compassion and awe might be better terms” (pg. 1253). This description can be held against any protagonist to determine if they are a tragic hero or just another character. When held against Sophocles’ character Oedipus in the play Oedipus Rex, it becomes clear that he is not just another protagonist. Sophocles’ Oedipus is a textbook tragic hero that falls from greatness due to his prideful mistakes and ignorance of the consequences

The story and life of Oedipus is one of misfortune and misunderstanding. Oedipus is generally percieved as a tragic hero, but I think that theres more to him. I believe that Oedipus can be considered an epic hero on top of already being a tragic hero. There are a few reasons why I think this.

Although a great and admirable king, Oedipus is a character who embodies hubris as his fatal flaw, which eventually leads him to his downfall as he finds out that he killed his father and married his mother. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is presented as a strong and noble leader as the priest says to him, “On first arriving here, you rescued Thebes/ from paying the cruel musician’s deadly tax./ You didn’t get advice from us. Untaught,/ but with a god’s assistance, so it’s said/ and widely credited, you saved our lives” (Sophocles 35-39). Oedipus is adored and admired by all of Thebes as he single-handedly saved them from the Sphinx, which illustrates him as an ideal hero. Unfortunately, when Oedipus begins to relive a prophecy he heard many years ago, his perverse pride becomes responsible for leading him to his terrible fate. According to scholar Marjorie Barstow, because of his arrogant demeanor, “he has no clear vision which enables him to examine every side of a matter with unclouded eyes, and to see all things in due perspective” (Barstow 3). Oedipus’s pride overwhelms him, and it became a major weakness in his life as it blinds him from seeing any truth beyond what he believes at the moment. For example, he says, “But I am Fortune’s child. When she is kind,/ her gentle parenting brings no disgrace”(Sophocles 1079-1080). The pride

Although Sophocles’ Oedipus the King seems to be a play merely focused on the tragedy that is the tale of Oedipus, it is actually a commentary on defying the gods for the reason that one is blindly believing in supernatural entities and allowing those entities to govern one’s fate. The tragedy of Oedipus the King revolves around a king’s downfall as he tries to save his people from utter destruction. His curiosity and drive to save his city brings him to the realization that not only has his entire life been a lie, but that he is ultimately what is bringing the city to ruin. The reader learns that this is due to his empire essentially being built on the fulfillment of a terrible prophecy in which he commits patricide and copulates with his

Oedipus is the tragic hero and main character of Sophocles' play. He is the cause of many deaths and sufferings, whether directly or indirectly inflicting them. At the start of the play, Oedipus is depicted as a loving king, taking good care of his people and doing whatever he can to ease their pains. After realizing his mistakes and suffering the consequences, he became even more humble and kind, but with weak spirit and mind. He had a short temper and flared out with suspicion and distrust. This occurred first when Teiresias accused him of killing, and later when Oedipus suspected both Creon and the blind prophet of plotting against him. However, throughout the whole play, one aspect of his personality was clear: his endless ambition to find the truth. Even when it finally dawned on him that he truly was the son and killer of Laius and the son of his wife, he just had to gather the last piece of the great puzzle to satisfy himself.

In Sophocles tragedy Oedipus the King, King Oedipus swears to solve the murder of former King Laios in order to free the city from the plague. The plague taunts the city destroying crops and livestock and making the women unable to bear children. A seer, Teirsias tells Oedipus that he himself is Thebes’s pollution for killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus ignores his words and is blind to the truth until he discovers that it is he who corrupts the city. In order to illustrate Oedipus as the perfect Aristotelian tragic hero, the reader must examine his noble stature that gives him authority, his hamartia resulting in his downfall,

To quote Brigitte Bardot “ Only Idiots refuse to change their minds” just like how Oedipus refuses to change his mind about him killing Lais until the end. There is a prophecy told about Oedipus saying that he would kill his father and marry his mother and he refused to believe that this prophecy was the truth. In Oedipus's journey you really see how his stubbornness affects his noble statute and creates a horrible ending for him. Because Oedipus has noble statute at the beginning of the story, his tragic flaw of stubborness, his downfall oedipus is clearly the tragic hero of the story.

Erik yanked the ancient silk curtains violently across the unswept windowsill. His shadow glanced across the dimly lit surface and disappeared nearly as quickly as it had come. One painfully thin hand clutched at his collar and he cursed himself for allowing that sliver of stage light to catch his figure. With his back pressed against the venerable wood, and his heart still pounding wildly against his gaunt frame, Erik shuddered out a labored sigh.

Sophocles were well-known as a master of tragedy. Sophocles was born at Colonus, not far from Athens. Sophocles wrote over 100 different dramatic stories. “Oedipus the King” is one of his great stories that has a mix of heroics to it and yet, we feel sorry for Oedipus and his fate that was handed to him. We ask ourselves after reading “Oedipus the King” who was this man and why did he think he could run from his destiny of fate. Was Oedipus responsible for his final fate and could he have changed his fate? We are going to talk about Oedipus and how his life unfolds from his birth. Then you, the reader will decide if you feel empathy for Oedipus and was this story about a tragic hero?

In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Oedipus struggles to accept the truth and he lets his temper over power him. Throughout the tragedy, he displays all the necessary elements to be categorized as a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. His refusal to accept the truth led to Oedipus’ downfall. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, “is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.” Based off this definition, Sophocles’ Oedipus clearly exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is a king that is loved by his people because he freed them from “the monster Sphinx” by solving its riddle. The Sphinx’s riddle is a famous riddle known by its difficulty and how no man was able to solve it but Oedipus; this achievement shows Oedipus’s intellect and his compassion for the people of Thebes. Then, Creon, Oedipus’s brother-in-law, comes back from his trip to the Temple of Apollo to declare they must “drive out the pollution” to save their dying land. Oedipus

Once it is established that Oedipus the King is a tragedy, one must look to discover who the tragic hero is. It is implied that his would be Oedipus, as he is the main character and the subject of the story, but there are legitimate reasons for this selection, also. Instilled in Oedipus are qualities such as intelligence, honor, and strength. His intelligence is demonstrated by his solving of the Sphinx's riddle. His honor can be implied by he way his people regard him so highly. His strength his also demonstrated by this, as well as his ability to lead Thebes unexpectedly. He did not expect to come to Thebes and become king, the duty was thrust upon him. Immediately, one likes Oedipus, allowing us to feel emotions, like pity and fear, for him later.

Many characters fall into the same category of the tragic hero, described over the decades in a variety of ways and spans different languages and cultures. In greece they followed the model of Aristotle in defining the tragic hero. His definition included a variety of different traits and events in the character's life that allowed writers to model and Aristotle’s vision of the tragic hero. Among these traits include hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis for the audience (Ohio State University). In Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King the main character, Oedipus, demonstrates the characteristics of aristotle's tragic hero.